8/24/2009 @ 4:00PM

In Pictures: The World's Best-Paid Cities

Figures released last week pinpoint cosmopolitan, commuter-friendly Copenhagen as the international spot where you can earn top dollar–before taxes. But there’s more to life than gross pay, once you’ve controlled for taxes, hours worked, social security contributions, and the price of things like groceries, household items and transportation.

Swiss bank UBS released its tri-annual Prices and Earnings report Wednesday, which showed that Zurich and Geneva had the most purchasing power of any other city surveyed. That means that even after taxes were deducted from their average hourly pay, they were able to buy the most, given the local cost of goods. UBS got its numbers by looking at 14 different professions across 73 international cities, and assembling a “shopping basket” of goods and services for which it compared prices across cities. It determined hourly pay for these professions, both before and after taxes and social security contributions, and then how far that money went. An evocative example of purchasing power is the number of working hours required to buy an iPod Nano in each city.

7. Los Angeles

Net pay per hour: $17.40

Gross pay per hour: $23.90

Tax and Social Security contributions: 27%

Vacation days: 11

Working time for an iPod Nano: 9.5 hours

Read on for more lifestyle coverage, including America’s Most Stressful Cities and the World’s Best Cities To Eat Well.